Gods Tower (white. Vezha Bagoў , Russian. Tower of the Gods ) is an English-speaking Belarusian metal band playing in the style of folk - doom metal . The group was formed in 1989 under the name Chemical Warfare , which at the end of 1992 was replaced by an existing one. According to the members of the group themselves, they performed the Slavic pagan doom heavy metal [1] .
| Gods tower | |
|---|---|
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| basic information | |
| Genres | 1989 - 1992: death metal , thrash metal with elements of gothic metal and doom metal 1992 - today: pegan metal , folk metal , doom metal |
| Years | 1989 - 2002 2010 - today |
| Country |  the USSR  Belarus |
| City | Gomel |
| Where from | |
| Other names | Chemical Warfare (1989-1992) |
| Language of songs | English |
| Labels | Final holocaust records MetalAgen Records Sturmesflugel |
| Composition | Vitaly Abramovich Leslie Knife Yuri Sivtsov Vladislav Saltsevich Dmitry Ovchinnikov |
| Former the participants | Alexander Urakov † Alexander Eristov † Saltsevich Irina Lozovskaya |
| godstower.com | |
Content
History
1989-1994
The group was founded in 1989 by guitarist Alexander Urakov and vocalist Leslie Nayf (Lesley Knife, real name is Vladislav Novozhilov). By 1992 , after numerous rehearsals and changes in composition, the main composition was formed: Alexander Urakov - guitar, Leslie Nayf - vocals, Yuri Sivtsov - bass and Vladislav Saltsevich - drums. In August 1992, the band released its first debut material called Demolition Tape (at that time the group was still called Chemical Warfare ). The demo was sustained in death / thrash metal style. At the end of the same year, the name of the group changed to Gods Tower .
In the summer of 1993, a demo release called The Eerie was released (on which the style of the group has already changed and was a pagan / doom with elements of Belarusian folklore ). The demo was a success and a large number of positive reviews. Thanks to him, the group signed a contract to record a single and two albums with the Moscow label Final Holocaust Records . However, the single, called Beyond Praying, did not come out due to the bankruptcy of the label and the loss of the master tape with the recorded material [2] . Later, Gods Tower signed a three-album contract with Moscow-based MetalAgen Records .
In 1994, the second guitarist Alexander Eristov joined the group. In the same year, a video was shot for the song Beyond Praying , as well as a demo of Canticles. Gods Tower conducted an active concert activity, performing with groups such as Paradise Lost , Doro , Forgive-Me-Not , End Zone , Vicious Crusade , NRM , Sanatirium , Mental Home , Evthanazia , TT'34 , Apocryphal , Flying . In addition, Gods Tower performed in the Czech Republic along with Purgatory , Samael and Cannibal Corpse , and also starred for Belarusian television.
1995-2002
In 1995, changes took place in the group: in May, keyboard player Dmitry Ovchinnikov came, in the summer, second guitarist Alexander Eristov leaves. In August and September, several new songs were recorded, which formed the basis of the promotional material, which was sent to the labels. As a result, a contract was signed with MetalAgen Records for the release of three albums.
Finally, in 1996, Aria Records recorded the album The Turns , the first edition of which was released on audio tapes on the Polish label Morbid Noizz in 1997 [2] . In 1998, according to readers' polls of the magazine Legion Gods Tower were recognized as the best Belarusian metal band, and The Turns album reached the highest mark in the Belarusian metal hit parade . In the same year, the video for the composition The Eerie was shot.
In 1999, the German label Sturmesflugel (a sublabel of Prophecy Productions ) released the Ebony Birds CD, intended for the European market, with the best Gods Tower tracks from previous albums.
In August 2000, the group took part in the largest European music festival Pepsi Sziget in Budapest with Bad Religion , Clawfinger , Oasis , Guano Apes , Apollo 440 , HIM , The Bloodhound Gang , Therapy? , Zdob şi Zdub , Chumbawamba .
The group broke up on July 16, 2002 . On December 14, 2003, Alexander Urakov, the leader, guitarist, keyboard player and composer of the group, died of cirrhosis .
Group Reunion
On May 13, 2010, vocalist Leslie Nyfe announced the reunion of Gods Tower. [3] They performed in their native Gomel at MASS MEDIUM FEST 2010 on July 1 and in Minsk at the Reactor club on July 4, 2010. In October 2011, the group announced the completion of their album Steel Says Last , released on the Russian label Mazzar Records. All disk material was composed by the late Urakov. [4] The album was officially released on October 14th. In the spring of 2012, during a tour of Russia with Marduk , Vader and Kataklysm, Dmitry Lazarenko left the group. [5] Lazarenko was replaced by the guitarist Neuro Dubel Vitaliy Abramovich; According to him, both teams for him are the main ones.
Concept and Ideology
According to Leslie Nyfe, the vocalist of the group, the group should have a certain ideological orientation, but the latter should not occupy a dominant position. Unlike those who define the group’s ideology as pagan, Leslie Nyf, who was a Slavic nationalist in the early period of the collective’s existence, defined it as a Slavic Vedism - freedom of spirit, proud national self-awareness, patriotism and the willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the Motherland [1] .
After the reunion, the ideology of the collective acquired a milder character, emphasizing the metal sources of music and the integration of a pagan context into it.
Composition
- Yuri Sivtsov - bass, backing vocals (1989-2000, 2010 - today)
- Vladislav Saltsevich - drums (1989-2002, 2010 - today)
- ( Leslie Nyfe ) - vocals (1989-2002, 2010 - today)
- Dmitry Ovchinnikov - keyboards (1995-2000, 2010 - today)
- Vitaliy Abramovich - guitar (2012 - today)
Former members
- Alexander Urakov - guitar, keyboards (1989-2003) †
- Alexander Eristov - guitar (summer 1994 - summer 1995) †
- Sergey Sergeychikov - keyboards (2000-2002)
- Valery Novoseltsev - bass (2000-2002)
- Irina Lozovskaya - keyboards (1993)
- Dmitry Lazarenko - guitar (2010 - May 2012)
Discography
Studio Albums
- 1996 - The Turns
- 1997 - The Eerie
- 2001 - Abandon All Hope [EP] [6]
- 2011 - Steel Says Last
Demos, compilations and tributes
- 1992 - Demolition Tape [7] (demo)
- 1993 - The Eerie (demo)
- 1994 - Canticles (demo)
- 1995 - The Turns (promo)
- 1997 - Twilight Lives 94-97 (video)
- 1999 - Ebony Birds (compilation)
- 2004 - The Anthology (compilation)
- 2005 - The Greatest Arrows (compilation)
- 2005 - Warta Vezha Bagoў (tribute)
- 2013 - Heroes Die Young [EP]
- 2013 - Roll Out [EP]
- 2016 - Liar (Single)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 We are a great nation! We are Slavs! (interview).
- ↑ 1 2 Alexey Kholoptsev. God′s Tower.
- ↑ GODS TOWER Announces Revival
- ↑ Gods Tower release Steel Says Last
- ↑ Gods Tower scandal broke up with guitarist Dmitry Lazarenko
- ↑ Review in FUZZ Magazine No. 8, 2001
- ↑ The group at that time was called Chemical Warfare
Links
- Official site of the Gods Tower band
- Musicians of the tribute “Warta Vezha Bagoў” about Gods Tower
- Gods Tower at Encyclopaedia Metallum
- Chemical Warfare on Encyclopaedia Metallum